On Sunday afternoon.
Daniel saw William enter the class and said, "William, why didn't you reply to my messages yesterday?"
William looked up at him without speaking.
"I really didn't mean to laugh at how black it is."
"I really didn't."
"But seriously, it is really black."
"Are you angry, William?"
"William."
William looked up at Daniel and said, "I'm not angry, shut up."
"Okay, William."
People in the class gradually arrived.
Daniel went out for a turn and came back excitedly, "Wow, I just heard from a teacher from another class that our class got a high score this time."
The class instantly buzzed with excitement.
Everyone was discussing who the student who performed exceptionally well was.
The rumor on the first day of school, starting with Ellie being a girl, was considered a rumor by everyone.
People laughed it off and didn't take it seriously.
Daniel approached Adrian and said, "You're not going to be at the top this time, are you?"
Adrian scratched his head and said, "It probably isn't me. I didn't solve a major problem in math this time, and physics too. I guess I won't even be in the top three hundred."
Adrian is the perennial first in Class 17, barely stabilizing around two hundred in the grade. Although his grades are far ahead in the class, they are not enough when compared with the students in the top classes.
Another perennial second is a girl who looks very honest and quiet, sitting in the first row and not very talkative.
Daniel approached Theodore and said, "It can't be you, can it?"
"Wow, did my prayer yesterday work?"
Theodore's sudden "Wow" startled Daniel, who said, "Oh, I thought you were not talkative."
The girl next to Theodore glanced at him and calmly said, "There has never been such a thing."
Daniel returned to his seat and suddenly thought about his math, feeling a little worried.
Although no one knew who the student with exceptional performance was, William instinctively felt that it was Ellie, who was calmly solving problems beside him.
Mr. Johnson just entered the class and felt countless eyes on him. He cleared his throat and said, "Although I am also anxious about the results, they have not all come out yet. Let's have a good evening study session."
"Mr. Johnson, which subject's scores are out? Read them for us."
"It's only English that's out, the others haven't come out yet."
"Read it, Mr. Johnson."
Mr. Johnson couldn't resist the pleading from the students and started reading from his phone: "This is read randomly, not in order of scores."
"..."
"Daniel scored 40 points."
Daniel almost wanted to cry; his mother would not spare him when he got home.
He glanced at Hao Ming, who was grinning widely, and said, "What are you laughing at?"
"Hao Ming scored 39 points."
Now it was Daniel's turn to laugh, pointing at Hao Ming with his big teeth and saying, "You show off, you didn't score higher than me, I scored one point more than you."
Hao Ming: "..."
Hao Ming: "Aren't they almost the same?"
"Well, you don't understand this, there is a big gap between 39 and 40. Although I only scored one point higher than you, I am on a higher level than you in thought."
Hao Ming: "..."
After hearing Hao Ming's 39 points, Daniel suddenly felt that his 40 points didn't seem so bad.
"William scored 35 points."
William played with his pen without much expression.
"Adrian scored 125 points."
Adrian breathed a sigh of relief; his English exam wasn't too bad.
"It has to be Old Wang."
"Old Wang just said he didn't do well, 125 points, how am I, who scored 90 points and was complacent, supposed to live?"
"Old Wang is awesome, hahaha."
Adrian modestly waved his hand and said, "No, no."
Daniel started grinning again, happier than if he had scored those points himself.
"Theodore scored 132 points."
Theodore is best at English and almost always tops the class in English; everyone was not surprised.
Mr. Johnson read a few more names.
"Ellie."
Mr. Johnson saw the number behind and was stunned for a moment.
"What's wrong, Mr. Johnson?"
"Why did you stop?"
"Was it too low or too high?"
Mr. Johnson restrained his excitement and repeated, "Ellie, full marks, school grade ranking, first."
The class was more lively than New Year's Eve, almost exploding.
"Wow, awesome, full marks."
"Damn, I've never seen a full mark in my life."
"I remember, Daniel said the new student was a male top student. When I saw it was a girl, I thought Daniel was talking nonsense. It turns out to be a real top student."
"Awesome, awesome, awesome."
"I don't know what to say, I can only offer a word of awe."
In an instant, all eyes fell on Ellie.
Ellie herself was very calm, just raised her head upon hearing, then lowered it again and continued to solve problems.
Mr. Johnson finished reading the scores and said, "The other papers are still being corrected. Let's have an evening study session. The duty teacher should be here soon." After that, he left the class.
William looked at Ellie, who was quietly solving problems, and said, "Little classmate, you did really well."
"Thank you," Ellie replied, not knowing how to compliment his 35 points. She thought for a moment and said, "You also have a lot of room for improvement."
William chuckled, not knowing if he was talking to himself or to her, "Scores are meaningless to me."
At that moment, Ellie seemed to see something in his eyes, but it was just for a moment and soon disappeared.
"Wow, Daniel, where did you get the news from?"
Daniel said, "I didn't hear it very clearly, just that our class got a high score."
"That's probably English."
The evening study session was supervised by the physics teacher. In the hot summer, he came into the class with a glass in hand and a physics book under his arm.
He sat on the podium, took a sip of water from the glass, and said, "If you have any questions, come up and ask me."
The student sitting on the podium said to him, "Teacher, aren't you correcting papers?"
Mr. Robert said, "I've already finished correcting them, just waiting for them. No surprises, the scores should be out in this class."
The physics score might be something many people in the class are not looking forward to.
Mr. Robert said, "Don't worry, I'll read the scores to you when they come out." After that, he started to put on his glasses and read the news.
"Actually, it's not necessary to read them, it doesn't seem like we really want to know the scores."
"Suddenly, I'm not so curious about the scores anymore."
"You can choose not to read them, I agree."
"I have no other requests, just don't score zero."
If English multiple-choice questions can be guessed, and the essay can be copied from reading comprehension, then physics is beyond Daniel's ability. After finishing the multiple-choice questions, he started staring at those familiar yet strange big questions.
It seems that they have all been learned.
But it doesn't affect that he can't do any of them.
Mr. Robert pushed his glasses, sipped his tea, and said, "The physics scores are out, you must be looking forward to them, right? I'll read them now."